The Chinese automobile giants, engaged in a fierce price war, are meeting on Thursday Beijing for the Auto China motor show, vying to attract new customers and headlines in the world's largest market. of electric vehicles in the world and beyond. abroad. The crowd flocks Thursday to the exhibition center which is hosting the event until May 4, usually organized every two years alternating with that of Shanghai but which did not take place since 2019 due to the pandemic. The Chinese electric market has exploded in recent years – representing 69% of global sales in December 2023, according to the Rystad firm Energy – and Chinese manufacturers are now attacking the international market. The quality of the products offered by Chinese manufacturers in recent years is “improving”, declared to AFP during the show William Li, general manager of the Nio brand established in Shanghai. “In the first half of April this year, (China's) sales of new energy vehicles exceeded sales of fuel vehicles,” Li reported. Several other big Chinese names in the sector spoke at the show, such as He Xiaopeng, general manager of XPeng, and Lei Jun, boss of Xiaomi, while visitors wandered between the stands and took photos of the vehicles on display . M. Lei was mobbed by legions of fans on Thursday, eager to follow his every move at the event venue. He Xiaopeng, general manager of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng, at the opening of the Auto China auto show on April 25, 2024 in Beijing © AFP – Jade Gao There are as many as 129 electric vehicle brands in China, but only 20 of them have managed to achieve a domestic market share of 1% or more, according to Bloomberg data. – “Optimize the experience” – Lei Jun, CEO of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, at the opening of the Auto China auto show on April 25, 2024 in Beijing © AFP – Jade Gao Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles “consider the car much more like Apple considers the phone, the iPad or the laptop. They seek to optimize the experience”, estimates Daniel Kollar, in charge of mobility and automobile issues. within the consulting firm Intralink, specifying that “this is what the Chinese consumer expects”. This constitutes a challenge for foreign companies trying to position themselves as rivals in the Chinese market. “Companies like Volkswagen and Stellantis (…) are trying to take an approach like +If you can't beat them, join them,” Mr. Kollar told AFP. “This is why we see partnerships appearing, like with XPeng. They think that they are behind and that the best way to get ahead is to ally” with them. Among the most prominent brands at the show is BYD (Build Your Dreams), an automobile and battery giant based in Shenzhen (south). A BYD Ocean-M electric car on display at the Auto China Motor Show on April 25, 2024 in Beijing © AFP – Jade Gao BYD beat Tesla in Q4 2023 to become the world's top seller of electric vehicles. Tesla claims to have regained this title in the first quarter of this year, but BYD remains firmly in the lead in its home market, with a third of sales, compared to 8% for Tesla. The company is expected to unveil its first electric pickup, the BYD Shark, at the show. The traditional automobile giants, which have struggled to cope with the surging wave of Chinese competitors in recent years, are also present at this show, while the rapid expansion of Chinese production of electric vehicles worries Western countries , who fear for the future of their own manufacturers. – Batteries and AI – Chinese society CATL is also represented in Beijing. Founded in 2011 in the eastern city of Ningde, the company is the undisputed leader in electric vehicle batteries globally. A Honda e:NP2 electric SUV on display at the Auto China Motor Show on April 25, 2024 in Beijing © AFP – Jade Gao CATL responded Thursday to one of the main criticisms concerning electric automobiles, that of long charging times which limit mobility, by unveiling “Shenxing Plus”, an ultra-rapid recharge battery which can, according to the firm, regain a kilometer of travel for every second of charging. XPeng, one of Tesla's other major rivals in the Chinese market, announced a large-scale phased deployment plan of artificial intelligence (AI) assisted driving in its vehicles in May. A Mercedes Benz G Class electric car on display at the Auto China Motor Show on April 25, 2024 in Beijing © AFP – Pedro Pardo “AI learns the habits of drivers and can then imitate their driving” and improve safety, described He Xiaopeng of XPeng to the public while presenting X9, a seven-seater “so spacious that it can accommodate five bicycles in its trunk”. Japanese heavyweight Toyota announced Thursday that it would join forces with the Chinese video game giant and of Tencent tech in the field of AI to take advantage of Chinese consumers' growing appetite for advanced features in smart cars. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116